A GRIEVING Reigate mum who lost her son at 37 weeks is raising money for a "cold cuddle" cot to give parents of stillborn babies more time to say goodbye.
Little Harrison Rodd, Michelle and Terry's fifth child, was "born sleeping" on April 4 – two weeks before his due date – weighing 7lbs 9oz. The family, of Stuart Road, could only spend five hours with Harrison before he was taken away.
Mother-of-four Mrs Rodd, who works in East Surrey Hospital's maternity ward, now wants to donate a cuddle cot – a refrigerated bassinet – to give parents more time with stillborn babies.
She said: "We only got five hours with Harrison, even that was pushed to the limit.
"His lips starting turning blue, we couldn't have the kids come up to see him like that so we cuddled him in blankets.
"If we had a cuddle cot he wouldn't have deteriorated that quickly. We could have had him for longer. We had godparents in place who could have come to the hospital for the blessing."
A cot can give parents an extra 48 hours with their baby, allowing them to bond. Mrs Rodd said: "If I can't prevent stillbirth happening, I want to give parents that bit more precious time."
The £1,500 cost of a cot is being raised by the Rodd family and friends. It's part of a £10,000 target for the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity (Sands).
Mrs Rodd began having contractions on April 3 and spent a few hours at the Earlswood hospital. The baby's movements slowed down, but Mrs Rodd was sent home, assured he was fine.
She returned the next day, when movements had stopped, and was monitored in the antenatal day unit, where the couple were told the baby's heart was beating.
But a scan later revealed the devastating news Harrison had died. It turned out the day unit's monitor was only picking up Mrs Rodd's strong heartbeat.
Mrs Rodd is also petitioning the Department of Health to have monitors in every hospital day unit which track both mum and baby's heartbeats. Currently, advanced CTG monitors are only in labour wards.
"I was monitored to the best of the hospital's ability but it failed because they were listening to my heart rate," Mrs Rodd said.
A petition launched last week has attracted almost 100 supporters. Mrs Rodd is also raising more awareness of stillbirths and says her campaign has helped her come to terms with her loss.
"It's giving me something to really focus on. You feel very lost on maternity leave. I just felt useless. I have maternal instincts but nothing to give it to.
"Doing something for him, helping his memory, keeps me going. It's still so taboo, losing a baby, but it's such a big thing.
"People don't know what to say. That's something I'm trying to break. He looked perfectly normal. My daughter draws pictures of him, it gives them hope he's up in heaven being looked after."
Donate at: www.justgiving com/harrisonheartheheartbeat
The petition can be found at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/69626
